Page 2 of Alpha Reid

She places her dainty little hand in mine, batting her eyelashes. “Juliet.”

“My sister,” Jax quickly adds with a scowl.

“Really?” I squint. “I don’t see the resemblance at all…” I lean in toward Juliet, dropping my voice low and winking. “You must’ve gotten all the good genes.”

Juliet giggles, which only serves to inflame Jax’s irritation. Pretty much what I was going for. This girl is way too young for me, but I’ll flirt with her a little just to mess with Jax. After the night I’ve had thus far, a beauty like Juliet is a welcome distraction.

“Want a beer?” I ask, dipping into the cooler behind me for another. Juliet nods, and I grab her one, too, twisting off the top and handing it to her. Steam is practically coming out of Jax’s ears at this point, but the other guys pull him away, distracting him to give Juliet and I some space.

I’ve gotta admit, setting aside the fact that she looks a little like Jax, Juliet’s cute as hell. Despite her being seven years younger than me, she could definitely be a possibility for a chosen mate. Given her alpha blood, I’d bet she’d be a natural Luna. And if I can’t find my fated mate, I’ll eventually have to choose one instead…why not Juliet?

I shake my head in an attempt to scatter my thoughts. She’s way too young for me- I shouldn’t even be entertaining the notion of mating with Jax’s little sister. Maybe the booze has gone to my head tonight more than I thought.

“So how’s it going?” Juliet asks, bringing her beer bottle to her mouth and wrapping her pouty pink lips around it. My eyes track the movement and I have a fleeting thought of something else I wouldn’t mind seeing those lips wrapped around…

Aaaand I was right, I’ve probably had enough to drink for the night. I lower my own beer bottle, dangling it from my fingers at my side and forcing those errant thoughts from my mind.

“Good,” I reply casually. “How about you?”

She swallows a sip of her beer, flashing me a smile. “Great, actually. Been busy with online classes, and looks like I’ll finally be able to put my medic training to good use here soon… which I shouldn’t sound so excited about, huh?” Juliet giggles, shaking her head. “Not that I want anybody to get hurt, but I’m glad I can be useful somehow with this whole war thing. Well hopefully I don’t have to be, but…”

“I know what you mean,” I chuckle. Now that she mentions it, I vaguely remember Jax saying at some point that one of his sisters was training as a medic.

I pick up on some commotion going on among my friends in my peripheral vision, glancing over toward them. Theo has his phone out and they’re all looking at something on the screen and speaking in low, agitated tones.

“What’s going on?” I call out to them, arching a brow.

Brock looks my way, then flicks his head to indicate to the other guys and they all start in my direction. “An alert at the border,” he says calmly as he draws closer.

“I’m sure it’s nothing to be concerned about, but someone should probably go check it out,” Theo adds. “The system only picked up one animal, it could just be a mountain lion or something.”

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Gray mumbles, his lips drawn into a frown.

I nod in agreement. “For sure.” I hand my open beer off to Jax, who has conveniently positioned himself between me and his sister. “I’ll go check it out.”

“You sure, man?” Brock asks, furrowing his brow. “We can send a couple squad members…”

I wave him off with a hand. “Nah, I’ll take care of it. Where was the breach?”

I leave out the part about how I’m looking for any excuse to get away from this damn post-run celebration and just be by myself for a while. To drop the mask that everything’s fine and I’m unaffected by the disappointment.

Theo shrugs, passing me his phone so I can see the map on it, a red dot blinking to indicate the security alert. I study it for a moment, familiarizing myself with the location identified and realizing that it isn’t too far from here.

“Got it,” I mumble, handing Theo’s phone back to him. I turn to Juliet, flashing her a smile. “It was nice meeting you, but I’ve gotta run.”

I can see the disappointment in her eyes, but she returns my smile nonetheless, replying that it was nice to meet me, too.

I say quick goodbyes to the guys and their mates, then take off around the side of the packhouse, heading for my vehicle. I fire off a text message to my beta that I’ll meet him back at the packhouse before leaving my phone, keys, and clothes in the car for him to bring home. Then I shift to my wolf once again, taking off in the direction of the border breach.

Once I’m in wolf form, it’s like the more distance I put between myself and the crowd at the Summervale packhouse, the easier I can breathe. I cede control to my animal, allowing him to lead the way through the dense forest between territories as I let go and take a back seat. I don’t want to think right now; don’t want to feel. I just want to run.

So I do. I traverse the rugged terrain, navigating the rocky creek bed and dodging fallen branches. As I advance through the Goldenleaf territory, though, something starts to feel…off. Different. It’s not the kind of different that sets off alarm bells in my head, though- it’s the kind that’s exciting. Like there’s something electric in the air, sending pulses of energy through my veins.

Then I smell it. It’s a scent unlike anything I’ve ever come across- like vanilla and tangerine, sweet like honey, fresh like a spring rainstorm. I can’t pin down exactly what it smells like, but it’s fuckingdelicious, and suddenly my wolf doesn’t give a shit about investigating the breach at the border of the territory, all he cares about is finding the source of that scent. My rational mind is at war with my instincts, but at least the two seem to have the same direction in mind- that intoxicating smell seems to be coming from the same direction I was headed, toward the border of the territory. My wolf is getting more worked up every minute, in a frenzy to get closer- suddenly I’m running on pure adrenaline and endorphins, the most blissful sensations washing over me as the scent gets stronger and stronger.

It’s like it’s all around me. I skid to a stop, throwing my nose to the sky, looking around wildly. It’s so strong, like I’m right on top of it, but I don’t see anything or anyone. I advance forward slowly, the scent leading me into a thicket of brush. Branches tug at my fur as I slink in further, pushing through to the other side.

And suddenly, I see her- a beautiful red wolf. Her glossy fur practically glows under the light of the full moon as she lifts her head, casting her gaze in my direction. My legs move on their own accord, leaves crunching underneath my paws as I step out of the brush. As soon as our eyes meet, the realization slams into me. I’ve never seen her before, but I knowexactlywho she is.

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